Metal wall for railway cars and the like



jiz farrfar:

W. E. VAN DORN March 15, 1927.

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I 1, 21,2 March 7 w. E. VAN DORN 6 93 METAL WALL FOR RAILWAY CARS AND THE LIKE Original Filed April 17, 1922 s Sheets-Sheet 2 March 15 1927. w. E. VAN Q 1,521,293

METAL WALL FOR RAILWAY CARS AND THE LIKE Original Filed April 17, 1922 3 $heets $heet5 GOOOOGOOGOOOOOR fizy'erez 'or 'WILLIAM'EXVAN D'GRN, or onzeaeo, IL'L'r-No'is.

METAL WALL FOR RAILWAY CARS AND THE LIKE.

Application filed April 17, 1922, Serial No. 553,981. Renewed March 4, 1926. V

In recent years freight cars have quite generally been provided with metal ends made out of sheet metal corrugated in vanous Ways to secure stiffness. Inananufacturing a corrugated sheet in which the corrugations are pressed out of the plane of flat portions lying in the original plane of the'sheet, the metal in the corrugations is weakened by being reduced in thickness, and there is considerable Waste because of the distortion of the sheet and the consequent necessity of trimming the same after it has been corrugated. Furthermore, at least three or four operations, including heating of the sheets as it is almost impossible to corrugate them in a cold state, are required for manufacturing corrugated metal ends, making the process slow and expensive.

' One of the objects of the present inventlon is to produce a simple and novel reinforced panel or sheet which shall be more rigid than a similar corrugated sheet on account of more advantageous placing of the metal 1n the stiffening ribs.

A further object of the present invention is to produce a simple and novel reinforced metal panel or sheet having stifiening ribs so formed as to avoid the waste which results from the drawing in of the metal to form the corrugations, in a sheet or panel having flat marginal portions at" the ends of the corrugations, and the consequent necessity of trimming the edges 01"- the sheet or panel after the latter has been corrugated.

A further object of the present invention is to produce a simple and novel reinforced metal panel or sheet having fiat marginal portions and reinforcing ribs in such a manner that each panel may be finished by simple operations and without the necessity of heating the panel.

In carrying out my invention, 1 simply punch or shear through a sheet of the desired size or shape and then bend some of the metal bordering the perforation, cut or slit so as to lie at an angle to the plane of the sheet and form a reinforcing rib or ribs. It will be seen that by this process there need be no distortion of the peripheral contour of the sheet, because the reinforcing elements are simply punched or sheared and then bent so as to lie at an angleto the plane of the sheet, there being no drawing in ofthe metal as in the case of a sheet having corrugations lying bet-ween flat marginal portions. As a matter of fact, a finished flanged panel may corrugated steel end of the same size be formed in simple operations'out of a-sheet cut to a predetermined size and shape. The shearing and bending of the ribs is a much simpler operation than the pressing of men rugation completelys'ur'rou'nded by a flat marginal section and can-therefore be performed more quickly and with less expend-iture of energy than the latter. Sinceit is not necessary to trim thesheet because of any distortion produced in forming the re- 7 lnforcing ribs no material is' Wasted; since the waste In COIIIIQCEIOH} with corrugated sheets results from the drawing of metal from the flat marginal portions to form the corrugations, there is a further saV-ing'in my improved sheet equal to the amount of metal required to complete the 'corrugations'in the corrugated sheet; and since the metalin the reinforcing ribs has not been stretched as it has in the corrug'atiOhsQand since the disposition of the metal in the reinforcing-ribs is not limited to certain specific forms or" contours as in the case ofithe metal in the corrugations, a much stiffer, more eifectively reinforced, and more GffiGlGI-lt sheet-may be obtained than is possible in the case of'cor- Furthermore, there is a definite limit to the number of corrugations.

rugated sheets.

which can be pressed into a sheet and a definite limit to the size of a sheet which may be corrugated, without 'tearing. According to my invention there is no limit as to size ornumber of the stiffening ribs or as to the size of the sheet which maybe reinforced by means of such ribs; in fact,;the

whole side of a car might, if desired, be made out of a single sheet or panel.

l/Vhile my invention may be used in-othe'r places, it is particularly applicable to metal car ends and therefore specifically considered, the present invention may be said .to

have for its object to produce a simple and novel steel end which will be stronger, lighter and cheaper to manufacture than a made out of the same material,

and 7 There is another advantage possessed by 7 my invention over corrugated panels or ends.

It is a requirement'of the majority of -railroads that corrugated steelends be lined on the inner side with wooden sheathing or flat metal plates. The contact hetweenthe metalof the endsand the lining isalong the ridges of the corrugations-on the inner side of the metal end, making substantially a s'eries of line contacts between the end and the the center of the next corrugation. arrangement the inner side of the metal end lining. Furthermore, these'lines of contact are spaced apart distances equal to the distance from the center of one corrugation to In my may remain perfectly flat so that the end and the liningengage with each other, not .along a few lines, but over the entire surface of the end less the combined areas of the openings produced inthe formation of the strengthening ribs. Furthermore, the

'my improved metal end may be made lig iter lining has no unsupported portion between :lines of contact with the end of a span greater than the width of the slots or openings in the metal end as contrasted with a freespan equal to the distance between the center of one corrugation and the centerof the next in a corrugated sheet. In practice, where parallel elongated reinforcing ribs are employed, the depth thereof willordinarily be not greater than one-half .the distance between the centers of the corruga tions of a corrugated end, bringing about such'a relation vbetween the length of span between points of support andv the thickness ofthe lining that the failure of the lining must come about through an actual shearing of the lining as distinguished from a failure through bending. Therefore the llning which is employed in connection with than that required for corrugated ends, if

no .greaterstrength be required or, if made .of the same thickness as the lining employed .with'a corrugated metal end, will result in a much stronger construction than one in which a'corr'ugated metalend is employed. The various features of novelty whereby .my invention is characterized will herein after be pointed out with particularity in the claims; but, for. a full understanding of i my invention and of its objects and advantages, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figurel is anend view of a railway box 1 car having a metal end constructed and arranged in accordance with the present invention' Fig. 2 is a section taken approximately 0 line 22 of Fig. 1; V

Fig. 3 is a section taken approximately on line 3-3 of Fig. 1; I

i Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 1, illustrating a gondola. car;

Fig. 5 is a section taken approximately on line 5 -7-5 of Fig. 4; 1

.Fig. 6 is an elevation of a fragment of an end or ,panelhaving a .slightly modified form of reinforcing rib Fig. 7 is a sectlon taken approximately on line 77 of Fig. 6;

Fig-8 is 'an elevation of a fragment of an 'end or panel in which the ribs have a still difierent form;

Fig. 9 is a section taken approximately on line 9-9 of Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 9, that is a section through fragment of a panel scrip ion to the particular embOdimentsil lustrated although itwill of course be understood that my invention, .as viewed 111 some of its aspects, is not limitedto com plete car ends or to car end panels.

In Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings I have illustrated a steel end made of two panels 1 and 2 arranged one above the other and fastened together at their meeting edges by means of a lap joint 3. The ends of the panels are flanged inwardly as indicated at l, so as to fit around the corners between theend and the sides 5. The lowerpanel may be flanged outwardly, as indicated at 6, so as to provide a foot member adapted to rest upon and be secured to a suitable end sill 7. All of the features to which I have Fig. 14 is a View similar to viewS, show-i just referred may of course be varied in many difierent ways.

In accordance with my invention I cut slits into each of the panels and bend portions adjacent thereto out'of the plane of the sheet so as to form reinforcing ribs.- 7 In the arrangement shown, these slits are arranged parall-elwith each other, they are made to extendtransversely of the panels,

and they extend from points near one side of the car boc y tovpoints near the other side of the car body. Each slit follows a horizontal central line 8 and inclined end walls 9 and 10 extending upwardly and outwardly from the ends of the line 8. The parts 8 constitute the major portions of the slits, while the parts 9 and 10 constitute simply short end sections. The short wide tongues 11' which are produced by cutting the slits are then bent outwardly along lines parallel with the lines 8 until they project at right angles to the original plane of the sheet. It

will be seen that by this'arrangement I secure a series of parallel webs or ribs extending across the car end from one corner post to the other. It will also be seentliat one of the ribs in either of the two panels, or a rib in each panel, may be placed immediately adjacent to the joint between the panels, thus Strengthening the end at the :pointwhich is usually the weakest in a two- :piece end. In the same way, regardless of the direction in which the joint or joints extend, .such joint -.orfjoints may be reinforcedby strengthening ribs running along the :same. These webs or ribs may extend at any angle :to the plane of the end, )referably at ri ht angles; and they may be simple straig 1t pieces-or, as shown'at 11 in Fig. 10, each may be bent along a line ex tending lengthwise through the same so as to form in effect a series of IZ-bars. Y

Lying behind and engaged with the steel .endiis a wooden lining or sheathing 12. This lining may conveniently be made of vertical iboards. In order to fasten the metal end and the lining together there maybe placed on the outer side er the metal end, between consecutiveribs, as many heavy boards or planks 13 :asmay be desired; each board or plan]: fitting between and extending throughout the lengths of two adjacent rein-- forcing ribs. Elements corresponding to the members 13 maybe employed inconnection with the other forms of my invention, as well. The wooden lining may be attached itothe member 13 by meansof nails, screws or other fastening means 1e, passing through the lining, through the openings left in the metal end when the ribs are bent up, and into the planks 13. By :this arrangement the wooden lining and the metal end are drawn tightly together so as to prevent the entrance of foreign matter between them. It will ibe seen that the members 13 close the holes in the metal end produced by the Therefore, if desired, all of the openings may be closed by simply placing a plank or a board between each pair of consecutive ribs. It will be seen that the metal end has a broad bearing surface on the wooden lining, the area of contact being, in the arrangement shown, perhaps one-half of the entire area of the end. Furthermore, the unsupported sections of any one of the vertical boards of the lining are quite short so that the boards of which the lining, is made can be much lighter than would be the case if they were supported only at intervals along lines corresponding in spacing to'the ribs, as is the case where a corrugated metal end and a lining are engaged with each other. j

In Figs. 1 and 5, I have shown an end for a gondola car made out of a single panel 15 similar to the panel 2 in the box car. The panel 15 is provided with ribs 11 formed in the mannerheretofore described; and the wooden lining 1.6, placed on the inner side of the metal end, is fastened thereto by means of suitable fastening means 14 passing through the holes in the steel end and into heavy boards or planks 13 as in the sheet.

box car construction. Vertical angleirons 1.71nay be placed in the corners between the lining and the side walls 18 of the car. An

angle iron 19 may be placed along the upper edge of the steel end, one of its flanges beformed by first cutting a series of parallel slits 21 in the sheet and then bending the metal on one side of each slit outwardly midway between the ends of the slit to form a rib 22 approximately at right angles to the sheet. The part 22 maybe ofanydesired' length, merging at its ends gradually into diagonal web or flange p'ortlons 23 which may he approximately in vertical planes symmetrically disposed at a small angle to each other on opposite sides of the centerof the panel; the extreme outer ends of the members 23 disappearing in the plane of the If the part 22 of the rib be made almost as long as the corresponding slit, a condition I will be, produced each as shown in Figs. 8

and 9 in which the panel 24 has straight ribs 1 .25 approximately as long as the slits26 so that the ends of the ribs terminate in short downwardly-extending webs 27.

In Fig. 11, I have shown an arrangement in which an end for a box car is made of two panels 28 and 29 fastened together by a vertical lap joint 30 at the-center of the end. The ribs 31 are similar to the ribs 11 heretofore described, but are arranged vertically instead of horizontally. v

In Fig. 13 there are three panels, a central panel 37, and side panels 38 and '39; the three panels being fastened together by lap joints 40. The central panel has vertical ribs 41 extending from top to bottom, and the side panels have short horizontal or transverse ribs 42. The side edges of the.

central panel may be bent or flanged outwardly, as indicated at 43, to form reinforcing ribs for the joints- The general shape of the beams formed by the ribs and the adjacent fiat portions of the sheet, as heretofore illustrated, has been that of an angle bar or a Z-bar. If desired, the beams, or some of them, may take the form of channels. Thus, the two central ribs in the middle panel in Fig. 13 both lie adjacent to I an imperforate central section 4 1 which, as shown in Fig. 12, forms with the two adjacent ribs ll a channel beam. Instead of having a Wooden lining for the metal end,

' heretofore illustrated each rib or flange has the lining may be made of metal in the form ot' a simple sheet as indicated at as in Fig. 12

or in any other suitable form.

In all of the forms of relnforc ng ribs had at the-base a flanged portion arranged 'at an angle thereto and constituting a part of the metal lying in the original plane of the'sheet. It is possible, however, so to slit a sheet that wnen the ribs are bent out of the plane thereof there will be no metal left in its original position except at the margins ln-other words, the panel will consist of a frame or framesacrosswhich extend a series of flat slats arranged on edge. Such aponstruction is shown in Figs. 14 and 15 i V in which the sheet 48 has been slit in such a manner that the central portion thereof 7 could be transformed into a serles of 1ndependent slats or bars supported at their ends only; i

I claim: r 1. A wall for a car comprising a metal panel, a lining lyingbehind and against said 1 panel, said panel having'sections partially 9 n a) u severed therefrom and bent outwardly at an angle to the panel to form stiffening ribs adjacent to openings entending through the panel, and means passlng through said openings for fastening said panel and said lining together.

2.. Awvall for a car comprising a metal panel, a lining lying behind and against said panel, said panel having sections partially severed therefrom and bent outwardly at an angle to thepanel to form stifiening ribsadjacent to openings extending through the panel, beams lying against the'outside of the panel adjacent to at least some of said ribs ribs adjacent to openings extending through the panel, and mean'spassing through said openings for fastening said panel and said lining together. 7

v 1. A wall for a car comprislng ametal panel, a hmng lying behlnd and against said panel, said panel being slit-ted and having sections bordering the slits bent outwardly at an angle to the panel to form stiffening ribs adjacent to openings extending through the paneL'beams lying against the outside of the panel adjacent to at least some of said ribs and overlapping solid por tions of the panel beside corresponding openings therein, and means extending through the latter openings to fasten the lining and beams together and clamp the panel between them. Y i In testimony whereof, I sign this specification.

WILLIAM n VAN DORN. 

